goleveldb

Shape: LSM, pure Go, ordered Repository: github.com/syndtr/goleveldb

goleveldb is a pure-Go port of Google's LevelDB, the original LSM. It is the balanced engine in this set: it never tops a table and never bottoms one, and it packs data smaller on disk than anything else here. When you want an unsurprising LSM with no native dependencies, this is it.

Best at

• Smallest footprint. 0.15x space amplification, the tightest measured, and it stays small under updates. See footprint.
• Balance. 1,032,000 reads/sec, 92,000 writes/sec, 167,000 keys/sec scanned: solid on every workload without a weak spot.
• Ordered scans. Supported and respectable, the third-fastest scanner.

Watch out for

• No headline strength. Whatever the workload, another engine is faster at it; goleveldb's case is consistency, not peak speed.
• Per-commit durability. 1,100 durable writes/sec, no group commit.

Reach for it when

You want a dependable, pure-Go LSM that does everything reasonably, takes the least disk, and never surprises you. If you need the writes to scale harder on a server or the lowest mixed-load tail, pebble and badger edge it; for plain balance and footprint, goleveldb is a fine choice.